2 dead, 7 missing in fishing boat accident east of Mindanao
Two fishermen have died and seven are missing after their vessel took on water in the Philippine Sea east of Mindanao, the Coast
Guard said on Friday, June 23, with an open-sea search continuing.
Fourteen of the 23 crew members of the Genesis 2 were rescued by other fishing vessels shortly after the pre-dawn incident on Thursday, June 22.
The body of one of the fishermen was retrieved on Thursday as the vessel lay half-submerged in the Philippine Sea.
A second body was found early on Friday, Dandy Orcales of the Philippine Coast Guard in Davao Oriental province, told AFP.
"We're still looking for seven (people)," Orcales said. "Five fishing vessels from their company are helping us look for them."
He said the cause of the accident was under investigation.
The fishing company is based in General Santos City.
The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, has a poor shipping safety record, with scores dying in mishaps at sea each year, usually aboard wooden-hulled outriggers used for fishing or to move people from one small island to another. (AFP)